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BOOKEXPO AMERICA ANNOUNCES ’06 SPEAKER PROGRAM
Tim Russert to Keynote; John Updike, Barack Obama, Monica Ali and Others Share Breakfast Stage
BookExpo America (BEA) has announced speakers for its well-known and widely attended events program which include the celebrated Author Breakfasts and Luncheon. As might be anticipated by the convention’s first return to Washington DC in over 20 years, the speakers this year will include a healthy dose of political pundits, many of whom will participate in what convention officials expect to be an exciting luncheon on Saturday, May 20. At that luncheon Pat Buchanan, Ariana Huffington, Frank Rich and Andrew Sullivan will face off while Lynn Sherr will moderate the proceedings. Meanwhile, with his distinctive style and wit, Tim Russert will host the Opening Night Keynote and will welcome everyone in the book industry to Washington DC.At the Saturday and Sunday morning gatherings, politics will also be present but literature finds its own voice as Amy Sedaris, Marie Arana, Richard Ford, Anderson Cooper, and Andy Borowitz join John Updike, Barack Obama and Monica Ali on the breakfast podium.
On Saturday night, comedy legend Bob Newhart will headline BEA’s annual Book Industry Foundation benefit, while Paula Poundstone will perform the opening act. Both comedians will take the stage to entertain BEA’s audience of booksellers and book industry professionals in an exclusive performance on Saturday, May 20 at 9pm in Ballroom A at the Washington DC Convention Center. Tickets for the event will cost $25 for one ticket, $45 for two tickets, or $100 for five tickets.
Bob Newhart’s new book, to be titled I SHOULDN’T EVEN BE DOING THIS, will be published by Hyperion in September ’06. Paula Poundstone’s book, THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS BOOK THAT I MEANT TO SAY, is described by her publisher as “part memoir, part monologue, with a pinch of self-deprecation and a dash of startling honesty.”
Convention officials note that one of the important aspects of the author event programs, and one of the main reasons that they are so attractive to the audience of booksellers, is that the authors don’t just talk about their new book, but use the platform to discuss the influences and experiences that have shaped their ideas and careers.
The line up of BEA ’06 Special Events announced so far include:
THURSDAY, May 18, 2006
5:00PM – 6:00PM / BEA’S OPENING NIGHT KEYNOTE)
Featuring Tim Russert, author of Wisdom of our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons (Random House).
FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2006
8:00AM – 9:30 AM CHILDREN’S BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST
Presented in cooperation with the Children's Booksellers and Publishers Committee [A cooperative committee of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC), and the Children's Book Council (CBC)] This opening-day breakfast will feature Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak (Puffin Books/Penguin Young Readers Group); Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, co-creators of Peter and the Shadow Thieves (Hyperion Books/Disney Publishing Worldwide); Marc Brown, who is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his popular Arthur series (Little Brown & Company and Random House Children’s Books). Admission: $30
SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2006
8:00AM – 9:30 AM SATURDAY BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST
Saturday morning will feature Barack Obama, author of The Audacity of Hope (Crown Publishing Group); Amy Sedaris, author of I Like You (Warner Books); and John Updike, author of Terrorist (Alfred A. Knopf). Marie Arana, author of Cellophane (Dial Press) is your host. Admission $30.
12PM – 2PM SATURDAY BOOK & AUTHOR LUNCHEON
This year’s luncheon will focus on politics and will feature Pat Buchanan, author of State of Emergency (Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin’s Press); Ariana Huffington, author of On Becoming Fearless: Advice for Women (Little, Brown and Company); Frank Rich, author of The
Greatest Story Ever Sold: Bush’s America from “Mission Accomplished” to “Heckuva Job, Brownie” (Penguin Press); and Andrew Sullivan, author of The Conservative Soul: How We Lost
it, How to Get it Back (HarperCollins). Lynn Sherr, author of Outside the Box: A Memoir (Rodale Books), is your host. Admission $49.
4PM – 5PM THE HEARD WORD: BEA’S AUDIOBOOK & AUTHOR TEA
Come hear Jim Belushi, author of Real Men Don’t Apologize!(Brilliance Audio); Mark Bowden, author of Guests of the Ayatollah (Simon & Schuster Audio); Joseph Finder, author of Killer Instinct (Audio Renaissance); and George Pelecanos, author of The Night Gardener (Time Warner Audio), talk about their recent and upcoming audiobooks and the experience of hearing their works translated into audiobook format. Hosted by the Audio Publishers Association. Admission $20.
SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2006
8:00AM – 9:30 AM SUNDAY BOOK & AUTHOR BREAKFAST
Sunday morning will feature Richard Ford, author of The Lay of the Land (Alfred A. Knopf); Monica Ali, author of Alentejo Blue (Scribner); and Anderson Cooper, author of Dispatches From the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters and Survival (HarperCollins). Andy Borowitz, author of The Republican Playbook: Dirty Tricks, Distortions, and Other Keys to Victory (Hyperion) is your host. Admission $30.